Saving Seafood

New federal law phases out large-mesh drift gillnets for California swordfish

January 5, 2022 — For years large-mesh drift gillnets used in the California swordfish fishery have faced scrutiny from government regulators and environmental groups for historically high bycatch rates. Now with the passage of the federal Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, the gear type is set to be phased out over the next five years.

The act was passed as part of $1.7 trillion federal omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in the final days of 2022.

A federal ban was first passed by both chambers of Congress as a standalone bill in 2020 but was subject to the final veto of Donald Trump’s presidency. The bill was reintroduced by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) in 2021 and was included in the 4,155-page spending bill that will finance the federal government through September.

The legislation also includes grants to the remaining large-drift gillnet permit holders to cover the cost of permits, the forfeiture of existing fishing gear, and the acquisition of alternative fishing gear, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The large-mesh drift gillnets have been on the decline for decades, peaking in 1988 and 1989 with 10,000 sets made each year with more than 200 active permits, according to NOAA Fisheries. But in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season just seven large-mesh drift gillnet permits—out of a total of 25 federal permits—were active. Large-mesh drift gillnets are only allowed off the coast of California and Oregon and are prohibited everywhere else in United States waters over environmental concerns.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

 

California’s endangered salmon population plummets amid new threat

January 4, 2022 — They’ve been pushed to the brink of extinction by dams, drought, extreme heat and even the flare of wildfires, but now California’s endangered winter-run Chinook salmon appear to be facing an entirely new threat—their own ravenous hunger for anchovies.

After the worst spawning season ever in 2022, scientists now suspect the species’ precipitous decline is being driven by its ocean diet.

Researchers hypothesize that the  are feasting too heavily on anchovies, a fish that is now swarming the California coast in record numbers. Unfortunately for the salmon, anchovies carry an enzyme called thiaminase, which breaks down —a vitamin that is essential to cell function in all living things.

“These are fish that returned to the river early this year and then spawned in the spring and early summer. They had really low thiamine,” said Nate Mantua, a fisheries researcher with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Santa Cruz. Concentrations were “worse than last year.”

In humans, a critical deficiency of thiamine, or vitamin B1, can lead to heart failure and nerve damage. In female salmon that are returning to rivers and streams to spawn, thiamine deficiency can be passed on to their many hatchlings, which suffer problems swimming and experience high rates of death, researchers say.

Now, with government agencies and Native American tribes fearing the collapse of the winter-run Chinook, scientists are embarking on a campaign to determine why the anchovy population has exploded off the California coast, and why winter-run Chinook are seemingly ignoring all other prey.

“The very unusual thing about their diet is that it’s been so focused on anchovies and so lacking in other things that historically they have been found eating,” Mantua said. “It is something we don’t have great information on.”

Read the full article at PHYS.org

California imposes 50 percent gear reduction for Dungeness opening New Year’s Eve

December 28, 2022 — California’s crab fleet starts setting half of its Dungeness gear at 8:01 a.m. Wednesday morning, preparing for a Dec. 31 season opener after six weeks of postponement while humpback whales were on the move.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife imposed the 50 percent trap reduction as an additional caution for avoiding gear entanglements when the fishery is opened at 12:01 a.m. As has been typical during the last four years, the season opener was delayed – three times in fall 2022 – as state officials tracked whale movements and assessed potential danger.

The state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) regulations, set in 2020, require restrictions on crab fishing when whales are on the move in fishing areas and the risk of entanglement is high.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Saving salmon: Chinook return to California’s far north — with a lot of human help

December 10, 2022 — Winter-run Chinook were federally listed as endangered in 1994, but recent years have been especially hard for the fish. Facing severe drought and warm river conditions, most winter-run salmon born naturally in the Sacramento River have perished over the past three years.

So restoring Chinook to the McCloud has become an urgent priority for state and federal officials. In the first year of a drought-response project, about 40,000 salmon eggs were brought back to the McCloud, a picturesque river in the wilderness of the Cascade mountains.

Iconic in Northern California, Chinook salmon are critical pieces of the region’s environment. They are consumed by sea lions, orcas and bears, and they still support a commercial fishing industry. Chinook remain vital to the culture and traditional foods of Native Americans, including the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, whose historical salmon fishing grounds included the McCloud River.

Conservation experts say the McCloud’s cold, clean water holds great promise as a potential Chinook refuge — and perhaps even a future stronghold for the species. Restoring salmon there is considered critical to the species’ survival, since they now spawn only in low-lying parts of the Central Valley near Redding and Red Bluff, where it’s often too hot and dry for most newborn fish to survive.

Read the full article at ABC 10

CALIFORNIA: California’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again

December 10, 2022 — The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California has been delayed further to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday that commercial crabbing will be delayed until at least Dec. 30. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 22.

It’s the third delay for the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15 for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Del Mar, Silver Bay, Lund’s collaborate to push MSC assessment of California squid fishery

November 28, 2022 — The California market squid purse-seine fishery, one of the largest commercial squid fisheries by tonnage in the United States, has started the Marine Stewardship Council assessment process.

A completion of an initial draft of the MSC assessment report found the fishery preliminarily qualified for certification. Three seafood companies; Del Mar Seafoods, Silver Bay Seafoods, and Lund’s Fisheries, as well as supplier Sun Coast Calamari, collaborated to push the assessment process, which is being conducted by with the independent certification body SCS Global Services.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whales Off California Coast Delay Commercial Crab Season

November 25, 2022 — For the fourth year in a row, the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California will be delayed to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines, it was announced Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it was delaying the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15, until further notice for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Authorities first announced a delay late last month. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 7 and if conditions allow commercial crabbing could be permitted on Dec. 16, the department said.

Read the full article at NBC San Diego

California Market Squid Fishery Begins MSC Assessment

November 23, 2022 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard assessment process has begun for the California market squid fishery.

Over a month ago, SeafoodNews covered how squid purse seiners and processors in the state were looking to land MSC certification.

Del Mar Seafoods, Silver Bay Seafoods and Lund’s Fisheries, supplied by Sun Coast Calimari, have engaged with independent certification body SCS Global Services to complete the assessment of the fishery against the MSC Standard.

The aforementioned coalition explained that the California market squid fishery is the largest commercial squid fishery by tonnage in the U.S. with the squid serving as a popular option as calamari due to its flavor.

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab season delayed due to concerns for whale safety and meat quality

November 23, 2022 — Dungeness crab fans may find the holiday staple more difficult to find in northern California after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced delays to the commercial fishing season.

According to CDFW, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3-6 will remain delayed due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement with lines and traps in this fishery.

Read the full article at KRCR

Panelists say BOEM, fishing industry still far apart on offshore wind

November 21, 2022 — With the first offshore wind lease sales impending off California, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and commercial fishermen still have a chasm to gap before the new and old industries can reasonably co-exist, panelists said at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle Friday.

BOEM’s early years of reviewing and permitting the first U.S. federal waters wind projects off southern New England failed to anticipate and head off conflicts with the region’s 400-year-old fishing industry, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

While the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project is moving ahead, BOEM and the developers are still contending with a lawsuit brought by Northeast fishermen with the assistance of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman